March 16, 2020
2020 Race Director Message:
Registrations suspended for now<
Good morning fellow runners:
COVID-19 challenges means Foodfare Winnipeg Police Half Marathon will be scaled-back or run as a virtual race
The COVID-19 virus continues to ravage our day-to-day lives and according to experts, it may soon leave many seriously ill.
While the dedicated group of volunteers who have put on the Foodfare Winnipeg Police Service Half Marathon for the past 15 years gave everything they had to make it 16 years, it has become clear that the scale and impact of COVID-19 on a global level is making this very challenging.
Over the last number of days, we have worked through several options to keep the event predictable. The current pace of change around COVID-19 has made this nearly impossible.
So, where does that leave us?
We will be keeping a plan in place to have the event (on a reduced scale with logistics changes) in the event that we can appropriately host a race day event.
However, for the time being, we will be suspending registrations until we have a better idea about the impact of COVID-19.
We are not cancelling the event, although its final form may be different. I feel the need to provide all of you with an outline what we see as a worst-case scenario. IF it becomes clear that the traditional event can not be held for public safety reasons, we will transition this into a virtual event.
These virtual races are popular in the U.S. because they allow people to:
- Participate no matter where you are and on the "course" of your choosing whether it be a treadmill, your neighborhood, or at your cottage
- Communicate their finish time, date and location on any of our social media channels so other runners can acknowledge your accomplishment
- You can start your virtual run any time
When the time is appropriate, we will make race kits available to registered runners to pick-up. This will include a medal, shirt, bib and secret finisher gift. It is impossible right now for me to say when this may happen.
We will continue to communicate with you when we have something valuable to share. We know that everyone is overloaded with information right now.
On a quick note, for those who wonder why we can't simply do refunds to all registered runners. This is simply a product of timelines relating to when race gear and products need to be ordered by and paid for. Most of the gear was ordered in January.
Like many of you, my team is very frustrated at how this has unfolded but frankly, we are worried for our neighbours, our community and our country even more.
We hope we can recover from this significant set back for the race, but right now there are just bigger things to focus on. Look after each other, heed the warnings of the professionals and I will be in touch.
Please email us at questions@wpshalfmarathon.ca if you have a question or if we can be of assistance.
Thank you!
Nick Paulet
Race Director
